blogTO | Posts by jonathan

blogTO | Posts by jonathan http://www.blogto.com/ Toronto blog Copyright 2012 Sat, 26 May 2012 21:08:33 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Exploring the end of Modernism (a photo essay) Many advocates of postmodernism will tell you that architecturally, the former modernist mode came to an end with the demolition of the infamous Pruitt-Igoe projects of Missouri in the early 1970s. Sadly, I was born several decades too late to experience this and bring back images.

I can, however, share some snaps from a somewhat similar site demolition in Toronto. The property in question most definitely falls under the category of modernist design, and in its last breaths, reveals quite a unique aesthetic — one very different from those familiar with my usual work.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/09/exploring_the_end_of_modernism_a_photo_essay http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/09/exploring_the_end_of_modernism_a_photo_essay City Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:24:18 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2011-09-21T16:24:18 Industrial silence and the solace in decay Silence is not an attribute one would usually ascribe to urban life. Unlike the typical clamour which seems all too abundant in the life of a city, silence seems to require an active search on our part, if we are to unearth it here. Within the post-industrial built environment, I tend to find the greatest quiet in places which, ironically, once created the greatest noise. Whether factories, power-stations, or processing plants, all of the places depicted in this photo series reveal workplaces long-devoid of their employees; trapped in the silent space between activity and redevelopment (or, sadly, demolition), they bear witness to a past made present by their remnants, while quietly awaiting their fate.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/05/industrial_silence_and_the_solace_in_decay http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/05/industrial_silence_and_the_solace_in_decay City Tue, 31 May 2011 16:54:27 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2011-05-31T16:54:27 Shot from the hip: B&W Toronto street portraiture Capturing a natural urban pose on camera often requires no more then, as the saying goes, "being in the right place at the right time." The subjects are, and often remain, almost as unaware that the capture has taken place as the photographer themselves were, moments before the snap was taken. Unexpected, uncanny, and often times unaware, the image created is ideal — a representation of the way things simply are.

I never go out seeking to capture this kind of imagery, and yet over time, they seem to 'appear' throughout my collections. Each shot is its own story, yet when pulled together they seem (in my mind) to create an interesting look at city life in Toronto, and indeed urban life in general.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/02/shot_from_the_hip_bw_toronto_street_portraiture http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/02/shot_from_the_hip_bw_toronto_street_portraiture City Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:38:12 EST City Jonathan Castellino 2011-02-27T11:38:12 Don't quarry, everything will be alright I find that it is often only in the depths of winter that I return to photographs from my warmer exploration jaunts. Some months ago traveling east from Toronto, myself and two other photographers headed toward a derelict iron ore mine in Marmora which has sat for years, slowly filling with water.

Today, only a few gradations remain visible, and the massive mine-head which overlooks the site sits in shambles, its metal structure and machinery well worn by years of neglect.

More...

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/02/dont_quarry_everything_will_be_alright http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/02/dont_quarry_everything_will_be_alright City Sun, 20 Feb 2011 14:20:21 EST City Jonathan Castellino 2011-02-20T14:20:21 The last days of the Tweedsmuir Apartments There is nothing quite as disturbing as staring off an upper balcony of a gutted high-rise at its equally dead twin.

Adding to the eerie aesthetic element was my personal relationship with the building I was in. In secondary school, I used to stare out of my classroom window at these behemoths , as well as deliver Meals-On-Wheels to clients in the buildings on lunch-break. When I heard of the imminent demolition, I just had to pay the pair one last visit.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/12/the_last_days_of_the_tweedsmuir_apartments http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/12/the_last_days_of_the_tweedsmuir_apartments City Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:07:45 EST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-12-13T13:07:45 The horse raced past the barn fell The title of this post is a stock example of what psycholinguistic theory calls a "garden path sentence." In this, the reader is fooled by the immediate appearance of the sentence, and ends up with an image that is (at first) very perplexing.

Over my years in photography, I have found the same phenomenon visually when I explore decay in architecture.Those who sojourn with me to the outskirts of Toronto are well aware of my (not-so) secret obsession with abandoned barns and farming complexes. On a recent jaunt, I
happened upon a beautiful site, which, besides a few active chicken coups, was in a state of utter disarray.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/11/the_horse_raced_past_the_barn_fell http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/11/the_horse_raced_past_the_barn_fell City Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:27:25 EST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-11-22T16:27:25 The perfect weather, perfect light & the perfect height An unreal calm greeted us after climbing over 50 stories. We had been eying this site (from another rooftop, no less) during the cold months, waiting and itching to to get to its now finished top.

Taking our time to ascend, we arrived at our destination cool and calm, as opposed to the usual sweaty and tired. After a sip of water, we headed for the edge, to see what view it would offer. With a clear view, fresh air, and minimal wind, we began to take our photos.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/06/the_perfect_weather_perfect_light_the_perfect_height http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/06/the_perfect_weather_perfect_light_the_perfect_height City Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:16:54 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-06-03T16:16:54 Beneath the St. Marys Cement Silos in the Junction In 1912, Alfred Rogers and John Lind founded St. Marys Cement, based in its namesake town in Ontario. The enterprise expanded rapidly, and the cement produced would end up in the creation of many of Toronto's iconic structures, such as Roy Thompson Hall, Maple Leaf Gardens, and most famously, the CN Tower.

In 2010, two friends and I ventured to the derelict St. Marys silos in the Junction. Although an active set of silos remain on the property, many other companies have used the premises throughout recent years, ranging from NRI Rubber, to a bake-house -- all having subsequently abandoned the property. For years I had heard about the site, yet remained unenthusiastic. After exploring the caverns beneath the decaying silos, however, my opinion changed.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/beneath_the_st_marys_cement_silos_in_the_junction http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/beneath_the_st_marys_cement_silos_in_the_junction City Thu, 27 May 2010 16:52:20 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-05-27T16:52:20 The Toronto Brickworks remembered Adaptive redevelopment at the Don Valley Brickworks in Toronto has been under way for quite some time now. After examining the historical aspects of the location some time ago, I had resigned myself to never return to the place. The prospect of losing my favorite Toronto abandonment to gentrification seemed almost unbearable to me.

As fate would have it, I recently returned to the place amidst its transition, after being pressured by a fellow explorer who had never seen the property in any iteration. Much of my initial hesitance regarding the Evergreen project was immediately quelled, as I found that much of what I loved about the space remained, in a somewhat transformed state.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/the_toronto_brickworks_remembered http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/the_toronto_brickworks_remembered City Mon, 17 May 2010 19:50:33 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-05-17T19:50:33 Urban Surrealism in Toronto Toronto is full of many weird and wonderful sights. Photographers in our city have known this for ages. Putting these ideas together, it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite pastimes involves wandering around the city's nooks and crannies, camera in hand.

I decided to depart slightly from my urban exploration theme this week, and assemble a series of what might at first appear disparate images, yet all have the theme of the surreal -- bizarre and dreamlike images of Toronto. I will move through three phases of this urban surreality, beginning with scenes and places that are bizarre in their own regard, images made this way by photo processing, and finally, ordinary scenes made surreal by the elements of nature.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/urban_surrealism_in_toronto http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/urban_surrealism_in_toronto City Mon, 03 May 2010 14:39:34 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-05-03T14:39:34 Portraits on Toronto's Forbidden Rooftops My penchant for rooftopping in Toronto has always come from my great love of photography. The mission is to capture unique angles of the familiar, and to make the city refreshing once again. Those familiar with my work (here and elsewhere) are no stranger to images of sweeping city-scapes, taken from all manner of unfinished condos and abandonments. I rarely make those who journey with me the subject of my rooftop photography, however, and so I thought I might give it a try.

I decided to assemble a series of images depicting the wonderful people who join me on my esoteric adventures. As the images show, many of these folks are amateur photographers like myself. Observing the etymology of the word amateur is of note here, as it is derived from the word for "love." The passion these individuals have for their hobby is most certainly rooted in this form of love. We push each other to climb higher, to go farther, and to reveal urban beauty using the often neglected roof space in our towering city.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/04/portraits_on_torontos_forbidden_rooftops http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/04/portraits_on_torontos_forbidden_rooftops City Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:37:27 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-04-27T10:37:27 The Final Days of St. Clement's Church On a quiet street just north of Toronto's Leslieville, an almost century-old Anglican church has sat vacant for several years. My first encounter with this beautiful old church took place about three years ago, when a friend suggested that I take some snaps of a derelict lot on the street, failing to mention the abandoned church that overshadowed it.

Over the years, I have returned to the church on numerous occasions, and have slowly watched as its glorious details were stripped away. While sporting minimal vandalism, the site has become only a shadow of its former self as recent years have passed. My final visit revealed stained-glass windows replaced with boarding, and a zoning notice informing passers-by that the site will shortly be converted into lofts.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/04/the_final_days_of_st_clements_church http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/04/the_final_days_of_st_clements_church City Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:48:47 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-04-18T19:48:47 Toronto in Infrared A purposive representation of a scene or subject in any form of photography relies on at least two functions during the creation of an image. The first is comprised of the photographer's own framing and subjective angle on the particular phenomena, and the second is in regards to the equipment being used.

Toronto is widely held as a 'photographer's city', and so as Toronto urbanites, we seem to be inundated with images. Because of this, scenery once new and wild often becomes blase due to repetition. For this photo-series, I chose to utilize a very unique and beautiful in-camera mode of capturing images -- that of infrared.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/04/toronto_in_infrared http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/04/toronto_in_infrared City Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:39:21 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-04-09T16:39:21 Portraits in Toronto's forbidden places With all of the hype surrounding Toronto's LG Fashion Week, I thought it would be interesting to divert slightly from my usual urban exploration-type posts, and have a bit of fun.

I begin with the admittance that I am by no means a portrait photographer, unless we are talking about the portraiture of historic buildings. I have, however, compiled a series of images of the people I explore Toronto's unseen spaces with, in some of their favorite haunts. Although many are plainly staged (garment/prop-wise), they were all taken with an air of fun, and a unique aesthetic when it comes to fashion statements.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/portraits_in_torontos_forbidden_places http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/portraits_in_torontos_forbidden_places City Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:13:52 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-03-31T12:13:52 A view from the beautiful Burroughes building At 639 Queen St. West sits a building which has at various times over the years amazed me, confused me, and until only very recently, been completely inaccessible to me. Most of us will remember it as King Sol, abandoned in 2002, with its newspapered windows and imposing gates, but when it was originally built in 1907, it was the F.C. Burroughes Department store.

The seven-storey building narrowly escaped a major fire a few years back, which enveloped several of its neighbours. Since then, it has thankfully seen better days, recently being fitted with new windows and innards, awaiting prospective businesses and tenants.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/a_view_from_the_beautiful_burroughes_building http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/a_view_from_the_beautiful_burroughes_building City Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:44:33 EDT City Jonathan Castellino 2010-03-22T16:44:33